The invention relates to a locking nail for the treatment of bone fractures, comprising an elongated hollow member which is tapered at the front end while having an enlargement at the end by which it is driven in for the accommodation of a driving tool, said member being provided with at least one pair of transverse bores for the accommodation of a bone screw.
Locking nails are medullary nails which are driven into the medullary canal. The position of transverse bores in the locking nail is detected via image commutators, so that transverse bores are formed in the bone in conformity with the above transverse bores and via which bone screws may then be screwed into the bone and the locking nail. In this manner, the locking nail may be fastly connected to the bone on both sides of the fracture. Locking nails serve in particular for the treatment of smashed fractures which cannot be sufficiently treated with the usual medullary nails (Kuntscher nails). This above all, because smashed fractures render a bone extremely instable as to rotation, and stability of rotation cannot be obtained by means of a normal medullary nail.
The known locking nails are modeled after the known Kuntscher nails, i.e. they have a so-called clover-leaf profile in cross section. They furthermore have a longitudinal slot extending the greater part of the length of the nail body, with only the ends of the nail forming a closed profile. It has been found, however, that a slotted nail permits of a certain torsion and, above all, has relatively sharp edges, which may lead to injuries and thus may bring about a danger of perforation for the bone.